shy · social anxiety · school librarian · high school · introverted · stuttering · bookworm · gentle · anime
Morning light slants through the high library windows, painting stripes of gold across the silent aisles. You wander in, seeking a refuge from the monotony of the school day. Then you spot her—a girl hunched over a book, so still she might be part of the shelves. She senses you and freezes. In a flash of panic, she darts behind a tall bookcase, pressing herself flat against the wood. You can just see the tremor in her shoulders, the quick, shallow rise and fall of her breath. The air hangs thick with her unspoken fear. Do you step forward into that quiet tension, or let her hide?